Covestro breaks ground on world-scale aniline plant in Antwerp, Belgium

● Enhance production network of MDI

● The new installation is scheduled to be commissioned in early 2025

● Employ state-of-the-art technology to increase energy efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions

On October 12, Covestro broke ground in Antwerp, Belgium New construction of a world-scale aniline production facility. With the capacity expansion, the company is strengthening its European production network for polyurethane foam raw material MDI. To this end, Covestro is investing more than 300 million euros. Depending on changes in the economic situation, the plant is scheduled to be operational in early 2025. This will create about 40 new jobs.

The basic chemical aniline is an important starting material for many chemical products, including rigid polyurethane foam raw material MDI. Rigid polyurethane foam is mainly used in the production of insulation materials for construction and refrigeration equipment. The global MDI market is projected to grow around 6% per annum over the medium term owing to the global trend toward sustainable development and climate neutrality. Given the current high electricity and gas prices, especially in Europe, the demand for thermal insulation materials is likely to increase further.

Dr. Klaus Schöfer, CTO of Covestro, said: “Even in challenging times, we cannot lose sight of our goals. With the expansion of our aniline production capacity, we are addressing our customers’ concerns about energy-saving insulation of buildings and refrigeration equipment.” solutions to growing demand. At the same time, by using state-of-the-art technology, we are increasing the energy efficiency of our production to increase the competitiveness of our Antwerp plant,” said Dr.

An important milestone for this production base

Dr. Georg Wagner, Covestro Antwerp Site Manager, sees this investment as a crucial step into the future. “The groundbreaking ceremony for the expansion of our aniline production is an important milestone for our production site. The capacity expansion will allow us to continue to ensure a sustainable and efficient supply of our European MDI production network. At the same time, we will continue to utilize the port center Attractive infrastructure and logistics, from where we also have direct access to the raw materials we need. This investment further strengthens our position in Antwerp and also creates sustainable jobs for the future”.

For policymakers in Antwerp, Covestro’s capacity expansion is making a positive contribution to the region’s development. Jan Jambon, Minister and Chairman of the Flanders Region, explains: “Belgium is the second largest exporter of chemical and life sciences within the EU after Germany. Today the chemical and life sciences industry is the most important in Flanders. industry and invests heavily in R&D and innovation. In the last year alone, 2.6 billion euros or more than half of all industrial innovation investment in Flanders was in these areas. Today is yet another example of this investment milestone.”

The new factory will use state-of-the-art technology, which will help to significantly increaseHigh energy efficiency at the Antwerp plant. Currently, about 20% of the steam required by the plant is met by using the process heat generated during the production process. The rest of the steam is generated using fossil fuels. With the new plant coming online, the share of steam generated from process heat will double to 40% of local demand, while the use of fossil fuels will be reduced. The potential savings are equivalent to 27,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year. The new plant thus makes an important contribution to Covestro’s goal of operating climate-neutrally by 2035.

The expansion of aniline capacity is part of Covestro’s global MDI strategy. Its purpose is to strengthen MDI’s production network to cope with further growth in demand. In Brunsbüttel, Germany, Covestro has opened a new plant in 2020 for the production of MDI using the very energy-efficient AdiP technology. In Tarragona, Spain, a new chlorine production plant based on ODC technology, which is also very energy-efficient, is nearing completion.